I've known that kind of guy. Born with a silver spoon in their mouth, always had things go their way. Never had to do so much as pay a parking ticket. All their life when they say jump people say how high, so they don't know how to deal with somebody saying no.

Sounds like it serves him right.

[A few faces of those kinds of guys he's run into flash sourly through his mind...but Ishimaru's speech pulls his attention away, and despite himself, his lips twitch.] Kid, you're a teenager who just got real loud and passionate about working hard to make a difference through politics. That's a few good miles from average.

[It reminds him of the young fresh-faced cops who come in, thinking they can change the world, until the job and reality work together to grind the sparkle out of their eyes. Except this kid, he's dealt with the kind of ugly that would make a 10-year veteran pack it in. And he can still say that.

Knowing that kids like this still exist, it almost makes you look at the future with a little more hope.]

Hey. Kid.

Hold onto that, all right? Don't give up on that, wherever you end up.